Sport shirt



March 23, 1965 D. a. DALE r L SPORT SHIRT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Kay 25, 1962 in 00111024 DAVID B. DALE WILLIAM B. HERVEY W6 "7 March 23, 1965 n. a. DALE ETAL SPORT SHIRT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed llay 25. 1962 7" en/ma DAVID B. DALE WILLIAM E; HERVEY w M$ fl- March 23, 1965 D. B. DALE ETAL 3,174,156

SPORT SHIRT Filed llay 25. 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 jnvanlou DAVID B. DALE WILLIAM E. HERVEY United States Patent 3,174,156 SPORT ST David B. Dale, 1662 Braehurn Road, Altadena, Calif., and William E. Hervey, 11511 Moorparlr St., North Hollywood, Calif.

Filed May 25, 1962, Ser. No. 197,651 10 Claims. (Cl. 2--115) This invention relates to sport shirts and has as its general object the provision of means whereby the wearer can wipe moisture from his hands, thereby eliminating the need for carrying a wiping towel.

The shirt of our invention may of course be used for any desired purpose and in any sport or activity, but is particularly adaptable for use as a bowling shirt.

Bowlers find it necessary to remove moisture in the form of perspiration from their hands so that they may better grip a bowling ball. For many years it was customary for the proprietor of bowling alleys to provide hand wiping towels for the convenience of their customers. In more recent years in some localities, such towels for the common use of customers have been eliminated for reasons of health and cleanliness, and a stream of air for drying the hands has been substituted. Many people still wish to dry their hands on a towel, and in order to do so, must bring their own towels with them to the bowling alleys.

We have conceived a sport shirt wherein, in addition to the conventional shirt structure, a piece or panel-,of moisture absorbing material, preferably in the natutyof toweling, is secured to the shirt in a convenient location to permit the wearer to place or rub his hands upon it to remove the moisture from his hands. The hand wiping material may be of a number of specific forms, some of which are shown in the accompanying drawings and described here below:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a sport shirt including one form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional detail taken approximately on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a sport shirt, including another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional detail taken approximately on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a shirt with another form of the invention incorporated therewith;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail on a portion of a shirt front with a different embodiment of the invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a shirt incorporating another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary portion of the shirt of FIG. 8 with the embodiment thereof shown in an alternate position.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a shirt 10 having front portions 12 and showing the collar 14, shoulders 16, short sleeves 18 and a waistline 20, the latter being indicated by broken lines.

Suitably secured to the front portion of the shirt at either side of its vertical line of division are panels 22 of moisture absorbing materifl, preferably of the nature of toweling or terry cloth. The panels 22 may extend from beneath the sleeves 18 to the waistline 20 and each panel preferably covers must the area of the shirt front at either side as indicated and within the vertical limits stated. Each panel 22, as shown in FIG. 2, may also extend about the side of the shirt to provide a hand wiping surface of considerable area. The panels 22 are shown in FIG. 2 to be secured to the shirt by stitching 24, but it is to be understood that they may be detachably secured to the "ice shirt as indicated in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 by means of buttons or separable fasteners. However, if desired, the securing means may be in the form of a slide fastener or even a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and it is contemplated that these or other suitable detachable fastening means may be used in any of the appropriate embodiments shown.

In the form shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is seen that the wiping panels 22 are conveniently located so that the palms of the hands particularly can be rubbed on the chest with a convenient and natural wiping action. The panels 22 are extended about the sides of the shirt body to provide additional convenient placement of the moisture absorbing material so that the hands can be rubbed on opposite sides of the chest and also the trunk.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 there is shown a shirt 26 whose waist portion is indicated by the broken line 28. Secured to the front of the shirt at one side of center is a vertically elongated panel 30 of moisture absorbing material. This panel is shown with button holes 32 to receive buttons 34 secured to the shirt front. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the buttons are arranged generally in a U-shape, and the button holes on the panel 30 similarly arranged, the horizontal bottom row of buttons lying just above the waistline 28. The U-shape arrangement of the buttons and button holes provides a pocket 36. Below the lower horizontal row of buttons 34, the panel 30 hangs free. When the wearer is bowling, the free portion of the panel 30 can be hung outside of the trousers of the wearer, which is a highly convenient position for wiping the hands. When not in use, the wearer can tuck the free portion of the panel 30 inside the trousers where it will hang comfortably with practically the only portion in view comprising the pocket portion 36.

In FIG. 5 there is shown a shirt 38 which has slit 40 formed through the body of the shirt proper. Located inside the shirt body and adjacent the slit 40 is a hand wiping unit 42 whose general structure is as shown in FIG. 6. It includes a flat piece of moisture absorbing material 44 which carries another piece of moisture absorbing material 46 sewn to the piece 44 by lines of stitching 48 to provide fingers 50, such as in a glove, except that the fingers are open at their outer ends. Between the fingers forming piece 46 and the base piece 44 is a palm piece 54 which terminates at 52. In the arrangement-of FIG. 5 the moisture absorbing piece 46 is secured to the inside of the shirt body. Whereas in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the hand wiping unit is mounted outside the shirt and its moisture absorbing piece 44 is secured to the outside of the shirt body.

When the hand is inserted in either of the wiping units of FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, moisture is wiped from the back of the fingers and the hand, from between the fingers and from the palm and the opposite sides of the fingers. When the hand is inserted, it can be clenched, thus bending the fingers around the edge 52 of the absorbing piece 54, which at the same time is bunched up in the fingers and the palm to facilitate drying of the hands and fingers.

The wiping unit of FIG. 6 is shown mounted on a shirt panel section 56 by means of snap fasteners 58. The unit 42 of FIG. 5 can be similarly secured except that it is secured in the opposite direction because it is inside the shirt, or any other suitable fastening, permanent or separable, can be utilized.

In FIGS. 8 and 9 a shirt 58 is shown with a moisture absorbing strip 66, the upper end of which may be formed into a pocket 62, the strip 60 being free of connection with the shirt below the pocket. The secured pocket portion 62 of the strip 69 is preferably located somewhat above the waistline portion of the shirt.

On the shirt 58 is a lower pocket 64 disposed vertically below the upper pocket 62 a distance approximately equal to the length of the strip 64 below said upper pocket 62. In FIG. 8 the strip 60 is shown hanging free of the lower pocket 64, its position of readiness for use by the wearer of the shirt in wiping moisture from his hands. In FIG. 9 the strip 66 is shown with its lower end disposed in the lower pocket 64, the position of the strip when its use as a hand wiping article is not needed. While it can be removed readily from the pocket 64, the strip is retained in such manner that it will not swing loosely and distract the user, as when he is delivering a bowling ball. 7

It should be noted that, instead of a pocket at 64, its upperband 66 may be used alone. While there would be no lower pocket, the band 66 will function to retain the strip 60 in the same manner as the pocket. Therefore, where the term band is used herein, it may mean either the band 66 per se, or the band and pocket struc* ture 66, 64 as aunit.

The broken line 68 indicates the waist or belt line of the wearer of. the shirt. The band 66 is so located that when the hand wiping strip 60 is not presently in use, its lower end is disposed between the band and the shirt body and inside the top of the wearers trouser, and further retained by the constriction of the trouser waist band or belt.

When the hand wipingstrip 60 is intermittenly in use, as whenbowling, the free end of 'said strip. may merely be tucked into the upper pocket 62 which will retain it from swinging and disconcerting the user while he is actually bowling. 7

From the foregoing it will be seen that we have provided a sport shirt with means whereby the'hands, or one hand as in bowling, can be conveniently wiped dry, and wherein the wiping element or unit can be incorporated in a shirt in a pleasing and decorative manner.

It can, of course, be understood that various changes can be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

-l. A sport shirt including 'a body portion above the waistline, a hand wiping unit having a hand-contacting portion of moisture absorbing material secured to said shirt bodyportion, said unit bei'ng in the form of a fingered glove and having a hand back-engaging portion and a palm-engaging portion, and a portion of said hand-contacting portion, which includes said palm-engaging portion, being loosely supported from said shirtbody portion to permit clenching of said palm-engaging portion in the hand of the user.

2. A sport shirt includinga front'body portion having a slit therein, and a' hand wiping unit of moisture absorbing material secured to "the inner side of saidfront body portion with one edgethereof adjacent said slit, the wiping unit including a .panel having an edge adjacentsaid slit which is free of'the inner side of the front'body'portion of the shirt, said wiping unit panel having its outer face accessible to the hand through said slit.

3. The structure in claim 2, and said wiping un'itbeing in the form of a fingered glove 4. The structure in claim 2 and said wiping unit being in the form of a fingered glove with the outer ends of the fingers open.

5. A sport shirt including a body portion, and a wiping unit of a moisture absorbing material on the outer side thereof in the form of a fingered glove.

6. The structure in claim 5, and said fingered glove having the outer ends of its fingers open.

7. A sport shirt including a front body portion 'having a slit therein, and a hand wiping unit of moisture absorbing material secured to the inner side of said front body portion with one edge thereof adjacent said slit, said wiping unit being in the form of a fingered glove.

8. The structure in claim 7, and said wipin" unit being in the form of a fingered glove with the outer ends of the fingers open.

9. A sport shirt having a neck opening and having secured to a f ont portion thereof a piece of moistureabsorbing fabric elongated vertically and having only its upper portion secured to said shirt above the waistline portion of the shirt below the neck opening, that portion of said piece of material below its secured upperportion being of such length as to hang downwardly below the waistline, in one position thereof, over the top of the trousers of the wearer, and in another position thereof, to hang downwardly within the trousers of the wearer, and said upper portion of said piece of material having shirt securing means along the sides and bottom of said upper portion and defining an open-topped pocket.

10. A sport shirt'having a neck opening and including a body having a waistline portion, a strip of vertically elongated moisture-absorbing fabric 'having'a portion ad jacent its upper end secured to the front of said body above the waistline and below the neck openings, said strip below its secured adjacent upper end portion being free of attachment to the shirt, a strip retaining band on'said'shirt body below the secured portion of the strip and forming, With the shirt body, a loop for removably receiving and retaining the unsecured portion of the strip, and said strip having its upper side edges secured to the shirt and its upper end edge free of the shirt and providing, with said portion of said strip secured to the front ot the shirt body adjacent the upper end of the strip, a pocket secured to the shirt body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,944,416 1/34 Erlanger 2-115 2,074,535 3/37 Brokering 2-145 X 2,568,421 9/51 Van Staagen 2-48 2,624,050 1/53 Boller 2-145 X 2,922,164 1/60 Liff 72-49 2,985,884 5/61 Winston 2-91 X 3,045,245 7/62 Kohen 2-46 X JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

DAVID J, WILLIAMOWSKY, Examiner. 

1. A SPORT SHIRT INCLUDING A BODY PORTION ABOVE THE WAISTLINE, A HAND WIPING UNIT HAVING A HAND-CONTACTING PORTION OF MOISTURE ABSORBING MATERIAL SECURED TO SAID SHIRT BODY PORTION, SAID UNIT BEING IN THE FORM OF A FINGERED GLOVE AND HAVING A HAND BACK-ENGAGING PORTION AND A PALM-ENGAGING PORTION, AND A PORTION OF SAID HAND-CONTACTING PORITON, WHICH INCLUDES SAID PALM-ENGAGING PORTION, BEING LOOSELY SUPPORTED FROM SAID SHIRT BODY PORTION TO PERMIT CLENCHING OF SAID PALM-ENGAGING PORTION IN THE HAND OF THE USER. 